The Lion King 3: Invasion of the Other Kind
by Venomous205
Summary: What happens when tigers, who are just as powerful as lions, enter the Pride Lands? Can peace bring a solution or will it end in war? Especially since the leader of the tiger clan has a grudge against Mufasa and his descendants. STORY COMPLETE!
1. Love conquers all

The Lion King 3:

Invasion of the Other Kind

Chapter One: Love conquers all

"We are all connected in the great Circle of Life". It is the motto which all animals live by, especially those who dwell within the Pride Lands. It is a motto which inspires life, hope and above all freedom. A motto that can reunite a father and a son after all hope seems lost. And it is the motto which one king lives by, which has governed his entire life and which he will never forget.

Three days had passed since the ferocious battle against the Outlanders which laid Scar's evil legacy to rest and many of the lionesses were still getting back to the usual swing of life. King Simba usually spent his days taking walks throughout his kingdom with his beloved wife Nala. Nala had been injured during the battle and still walked around with a slight limp, occasionally letting out whimpers of pain which Simba would immediately respond to by nuzzling up to her and licking the wound on her leg. Yet even though Rafiki had advised Nala that taking walks was the only way to ensure a quick recovery Simba couldn't help but notice the constant mutterings of annoyance whenever the old baboon's name was mentioned.

"You know Simba; I think my leg is finally starting to get better." It was noon and both the King and Queen were taking their usual walk throughout the kingdom. Simba turned to face his wife and smiled, "Of course it is it'd take a lot more than a couple of bites to bring down a lioness like you!" Nala smiled at him and kissed his cheek, she loved it when he said things like that to her, it made her feel special, like the best lioness around. "So how's your training Kovu-to-be-king going?" Nala asked. "Well…it is...err…going great," replied Simba. Nala frowned at him and Simba knew he was caught, "Well, actually, it's not going as good as I had hoped. I mean Kovu's learning well but the only way to really prove that he's ready to be King when I step-" but Nala placed her paws on his mouth and licked his face affectionately. "When the time comes Kovu will prove that he's ready to be king and he will be a great one."

"You're right Nala, let's head back."

Simba nuzzled his queen and turned to face Pride Rock but, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two streaks running at full speed across the plains. One he knew as his son in-law Kovu, as he was the only other male in the pride. The other was his daughter Kiara for she was the most beautiful in his eyes, save Nala; both were running side by side through the grass. Simba looked at them and smiled, "Where are they going in such a hurry?" Nala moved his head so that he was facing Pride Rock again. "They're young and in love, let them enjoy some time alone together," said Nala as she started to walk towards Pride Rock. Simba looked at the two lovers, who were now distant blurs, and smiled again as he followed Nala home.

"Do you think he saw us?" Kiara asked.

"Of course," replied Kovu. Both Kovu and Kiara were now strolling towards the same sandy field where they had first kissed. Kovu nudged Kiara and they both smiled at each other, "You know Kiara, I've finally mastered how to play tag," with that he tapped her on the leg and ran off laughing. "You won't get away from me that easily. I've been playing this game for months," Kiara replied as she bounded off after Kovu laughing. The sun was setting and both lovers were enjoying trying to pin each other down until finally Kiara was lying beneath her lover.

Kiara looked into Kovu's eyes and smiled as she licked his face, which Kovu responded to by nuzzling into her. Then Kovu whispered into her ear, "Are you ready?" Kiara stared into his eyes and smiled.

"Yes," she replied.

Two hours had passed since sunset, night had fallen, and Simba was frantically pacing up and down upon Pride Rock. "Where are they? They've never been this late before. Something's wrong, maybe I should organize a search party."

"Ummm…sire," Zazu began.

"What is it Zazu?" Simba cut in.

"Sire, Sarabi wishes to speak with you," stated Zazu. Frowning at Zazu Simba turned and made his way into the cave, wondering as to what his mother could want. Sarabi looked up and smiled as Simba came in, "Mother? Zazu said you wanted to speak to me, is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Sarabi answered, giving him an I-know-it's-you look, "It's just that, Simba, you worry too much!" Simba looked stung.

"What! Me! Worry!" He spluttered. But Sarabi shook her head, "Simba, you're my son, I know you better than anyone else and I advise you not to get involved in Kovu and Kiara's love affairs." She gave him a serious look. Simba just stood there, staring at his mother, at a complete loss for anything to say. "I'm being serious Simba; if you keep interfering in their love life you're really going to regret it."

"How do you know all this?" Simba asked her suspiciously.

"Because-", Sarabi smiled mischievously, "your grandfather interfered between your father and I and we made his life a living hell until he stopped getting involved." Simba laughed as he thought about this. Sarabi got up and walked over to her son and nuzzled him, "I'm serious Simba, you'd do well not to forget what I'm telling you." Simba nuzzled his mother in return and smiled at her. "Don't worry mother. I won't."

Meanwhile back at the sandy plains both Kovu and Kiara were enjoying their time alone together; Kiara was lying in Kovu's paws and Kovu had his legs wrapped around hers, they were both watching the stars moving overhead in the sky. "Kiara that was incredible." Kovu stated.

"Yeah it was, for our first time." Kiara giggled mischievously as she licked Kovu's paw. "So you think we should get back home?" asked Kovu.

"I guess we'd better before mum and dad gets worried," replied Kiara.

Kovu kissed Kiara and the two got to their paws, with a soft nuzzle the two made their way back towards Pride Rock.

Meanwhile, hidden in the night's darkness, a mighty figure was crouching on top of a hill watching the two lions heading back towards their rocky home. He was a striped figure, of an incredible build. He was a tiger. He was staring now at the two lions, and then he looked up and beheld Pride Rock and a look of deepest anger burned in his eyes. Just then another figure of a far lesser build appeared beside the dark figure, "Well we've finally made it but I'm still not one hundred percent sure why we're here," the lesser figure said.

"You know perfectly well why we are here; we are here to reclaim that which is ours, and," the large tiger narrowed his eyes as he looked at Pride Rock, "to exact our revenge upon those who wronged us."

"But Khan, I mean Sire—"; he had broken off by a warning look from the leader, Khan. "I thought Mufassa was killed years ago in a wildebeest stampede."

"He was. But his son, Simba, rules now and our revenge is not solely ordained on Mufassa, or his progeny, but on every single lion and lioness of these lands." Khan answered.

"So what's our next move sire?" the weaker tiger asked.

"Why it's very simple. We make ourselves at home," replied Khan. "I'm sure the King will welcome us in the morning," he added menacingly. With that he swiftly pounced down the hill, followed by an army of twenty vicious tigers.


	2. One big surprise in a dire situation!

Chapter Two: One big surprise in a dire situation!

The sun rose up in all its splendour as the dawn came and soon the entire savannah was bathed in sunlight. Simba was always the first to get up, he made it a habit that he would wake up at the crack of dawn and bathe before everyone else. It saved him getting caught in the hustle and bustle or, so he said whenever Nala brought up the subject. It was a cool clear day as Simba made his way towards the water hole; he sighed as he stared at his reflection in the still water and remembered how Rafiki had showed him his reflection before his father's spirit inspired him to return to claim his kingdom. He had told Kovu the story of what had happened and he had listened with great interest for whenever his deceased mother, Zira, had told him of Scar's death she had told it to make him believe that Simba was responsible.

Simba took a few mouthfuls of water and looked back at Pride Rock and his mind went to Nala. Ever since Kiara had become a fully grown lioness they had barely spent any time alone together, it seemed like all the romance had gone out of their marriage. Nala occasionally brought up the subject but Simba had brought up the excuse that he didn't have any time because of the kingdom's affairs, but whenever she had given him that look before she walked away he knew that that was no excuse. Just as he prepared to turn back a huge roar echoed throughout the kingdom, Simba turned abruptly to face the direction of the roar and saw whole flocks of birds soaring out of the trees. _That was neither lion nor lioness, but what could it be? _Simba looked back and saw that many lionesses were coming out of the cave to find out who had let out such a powerful roar. Their eyes met Simba's and he shook his head to confirm that he wasn't the one who had roared, Simba turned to face the tree where the birds had flown out from and then he jetted off in that direction.

When Simba reached the tree he couldn't believe what he was seeing: various animals were lying across the ground with their throats slit and none of them had been eaten. The lion king examined the bodies, trying to come to a conclusion, when suddenly Kovu ran up to join him. "I came as fast as I could sir, did you find out who roared?"

Simba replied disappointedly, "No I didn't but I did find all of these animals with their throats slit. But what's strange is that whichever predator did this they didn't eat their meals."

"Maybe it was a cheetah or a leopard," suggested Kovu but Simba shook his head. "No this wasn't caused by either of them but there is a chance that it could have been caused by a hyena." He said the final word with a bitter resentment in his voice. Kovu looked stunned. "But I thought all the hyenas had left these parts after they killed Scar."

"That's what I thought to," replied Simba. "Though there still isn't enough evidence to confirm that it was a hyena," he added. Silence fell between the two lions for a while until it was broken by Simba, "Let's head back to Pride Rock, we need to inform the lionesses about this."

"And what about the kills?" asked Kovu.

"We'll take them with us, it should keep the pride full for a couple of days," with that he hoisted the dead zebra onto his back and made his way home. Kovu followed his example and hoisted two antelopes onto his back and followed Simba.

When the two lions returned home they found that the entire pride was already awake, both Nala and Kiara were looking anxious but ran up to meet their husbands when Simba and Kovu came into sight. "Kovu! I was so worried about you," Kiara began but Kovu nuzzled her face "I'm alright Kiara and so is Simba," Kiara smiled and licked her husband's cheek before moving on and nuzzling her father. "Everyone I'm calling a meeting of the pride, we have something important to tell you all," Simba declared. Nala gave Simba an anxious look but he licked her face and smiled at her, trying not to make her worry. When two of the lionesses had dragged the kills into the cave, everyone was assembled in a circle which was how the pride meetings were held. Simba sat in the centre of the circle as he was the one who was going to speak the most. "I have called this meeting of the pride to discuss some strange occurrences this morning…"

A few minutes had passed and Simba had finally finished recounting the story, when he had finished he scanned the lionesses for signs of anxiety and sure enough found a couple of lionesses with worried looks on their faces. "Look I don't want anyone to worry, even if they are hyenas we will just deal with them the same way we did when we took the kingdom back from Scar. And just to make sure that we get some answers soon I want you Zazu," he pointed his finger at his major-domo, "too keep watch around the Pride Lands if you see anyone doing strange things like this, make your report to either me or Kovu." Zazu nodded and bowed at both Simba and Kovu.

The days passed and neither Simba nor Kovu were getting any closer into solving this mystery, though Zazu gave them usual updates on the situation as he spotted many similar incidents on his flights around the kingdom. Yet it appeared that the pride were taking Simba's advice to heart and not getting worried and whenever they did, they simply remembered back to when they had pummelled the hyenas during Simba's comeback. Luckily Simba and Nala were finally getting some alone time together as Kiara and Kovu spent their time either nuzzling with each other, running to their usual hideout or making love at the back of the cave. Simba knew that he could soon expect a grandchild, and by the way they were going it was going to be pretty soon. Though he always wanted a grandcub Simba occasionally thought to himself that he would be considered an old lion if he became a grandfather, but he never discussed his fears with anyone except for Nala.

"Are you sure I'm not going to be considered old if Kovu and Kiara have cubs?" Simba asked for the tenth time as he lay in Nala's paws watching the clouds move up ahead. Nala sighed at her husband as two lionesses walked by, "Simba, for the last time, you're not going to be considered old for a very long time from now."

"Okay, okay, I understand," laughed Simba as he kissed Nala's paw.

"Hey Simba..." began Nala.

"What's up?" asked Simba.

"Does that look like Zazu too you? And by the way he's flying it looks like he's in trouble." Simba leapt to his feet and scanned the sky and saw Zazu hurtling towards him at full speed. "Simba…" the hornbill was panting for breath, "Simba I came as fast as I could." Zazu started.

"Zazu, what is it? Is something wrong?" asked Simba anxiously.

"I've found out who they are; the ones who slaughtered the animals in that way. I caught them in the act." Simba was now really desperate for answers now. "Who were they Zazu?" he asked desperately.

"Tigers," shouted Zazu before he collapsed, exhausted.

Everyone froze. It appeared that time had completely frozen. Then the silence was broken as Kovu and Kiara emerged from the cave, giggling to each other but they stopped dead when they saw how everyone was silent, with looks of horror on their faces. "Why is everyone so quiet?" Kiara asked. "It can't be…" Sarabi muttered.

"What can't be?" Kovu asked, completely confused.

"Tigers. They were banished from the Pride Lands years ago. They would not dare return." Sarabi looked both furious and horror-struck.

"What! You're saying tigers were responsible for what's been happening!" Kovu roared in fury.

"My father banished them from the Pride Lands during his rule but now it looks like they're back," said Simba.

"And that's not all," said Pumbaa, who had just appeared with Timon, "wherever we looked they're hunting down all of your food. There'll barely be any food left for the pride."

"We can't let them stay here! They have to go!" Nala declared. There was a loud rush of approval at this idea. Everyone turned towards the king, Simba. The lion king scratched his head thinking and then spoke, "Even if I banished them from the Pride Lands, like my father did, I doubt they would go quietly and I don't want to risk a war. We'll give them a chance first."

"There won't be any food left for us if they stay," declared Kiara. "And we need as much extra food as possible because..." Kiara hesitated.

"Because what honey?" asked Simba. Kiara looked hesitant until she finally spoke firmly, "because I'm pregnant."

There was a stunned silence that met these words then, both Nala and Sarabi let out shrieks of excitement and ran over to meet the young lioness. Kiara laughed as she nuzzled both her mother and her grandmother, while Nala seemed on the verge of tears. "Oh! Kiara! Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!" Nala choked as she fought back tears. Kiara nuzzled her mother and, when they had broken apart, turned to Kovu who was beaming at her, with a warm pride burning in his eyes.

Kiara kissed his forehead and licked his cheek; Kovu returned her affection with a gentle nuzzle and when they broke away her eyes fell to her father, Simba. Ever since Kiara had made the announcement, Simba had become paralysed with shock, staring at his daughter, without a single word to say.

"Daddy…?" Kiara asked nervously. Simba shook his head and smiled at his daughter, "You are happy for me, aren't you?" she asked uncertainly. The mighty king smiled even more broadly at the beautiful young lioness standing before him, "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" and with that he ran over and nuzzled his daughter, "I'm so very happy and so very proud of you, honey," said Simba. Kiara licked her father's face and smiled at the rest of the pride, who were also beaming at her with delight on their faces.

"Ummm…sorry to interrupt this moment of joy but, as much as I'm glad for Kovu and Kiara, there's still the situation with the tigers to sort out," said Vitani, who had just stepped forward and was grinning at Kiara and her brother, Kovu. Simba and Kiara broke away instantly. The amazing news of Kiara's pregnancy had driven the tigers completely out of their minds. "I have made my decision," proclaimed Simba sternly, "If those tigers had returned during my father's rule then, he would have wasted no time in banishing them again. But this is my rule and I believe in second chances, no matter who they are or what they did." And with that, the mighty king turned his back to the pride and walked into the cave.


	3. Hard times

Chapter Three: Hard times

The days passed and, as suspected, food began to grow scarce in the Pride Lands for Simba's pride, yet Simba would not hear a word against his decision. Though many of the lionesses were concerned about this shortage, especially Kiara, they did not dare discuss their concerns in Simba's presence; for after all, he was the King and his decision must be respected. After the first major shock of learning that his daughter was pregnant, Simba soon needed to call in the help of his old friend, Rafiki.

"Well Simba, Kovu, my friends. It appears that this beautiful queen-to-be is going to give birth to twins," the wise baboon declared.

Both Simba and Kovu looked at each other, stunned, and then Kovu turned to his wife who was grinning broadly at the sight of her husband's shocked expression. "You heard him right love," said Kiara and she let out a mischievous giggle. "Twins."

Kovu laughed loudly and ran over to his love and licked her face, "This is terrific news," laughed Kovu, he nuzzled her face.

"Kiara, you've made me so happy. I…I don't know what to say," he stammered. Kiara smiled at him and licked his nose,

"Just say you'll be by my side always."

"You know I will," Kovu replied, beaming at her.

Simba smiled as he watched Kovu and Kiara expressing their love for each other and, deciding to leave them alone with the good news, turned and headed out of the cave. As he stepped outside he found that all the lionesses were gathered in a group with their heads bowed. "Hey, what's going on?" Simba asked, as he moved towards the group; but when he peered down what he saw made his stomach sink. All of the lionesses were savagely tearing at a small bird which they had killed. Each lioness was tearing at each other to get at whatever piece they could get of the bird and Simba knew, as he watched his pride struggling for small morsels of food, what the situation was. With a plunge of guilt, Simba forced himself to look away from the scene but, as he turned, he walked straight into Nala. She had a stern look on her face, which Simba had seen a long time ago when she had shouted at him when he had refused to return to the Pride Lands.

"Simba..." Nala began.

But she was cut off. "I know what you're going to say Nala and I finally understand", Simba stated sadly. Nala smiled at her husband.

"So what are we going to do now?" she asked as she kissed his cheek, but before Simba could answer Kovu burst out of the cave, his eyes scanned the area and he ran over to Simba the minute his eyes fell upon him. "Simba, I need to speak to you. It's important," he cried anxiously.

"What is it Kovu?" Simba asked, and then he thought he knew what Kovu wanted to speak about. "Is Kiara alright?" he asked, with a look of panic in his eyes.

"Yes, Kiara is fine, it's just that Rafiki just told us that it won't be long now before Kiara gives birth and now there's going to be two cubs to feed, instead of one. It's just that I don't think that there'll be enough food for all the pride and the cubs if we continue to share with the tigers," he claimed, with a slightly guilty tone in his voice. Simba looked at Kovu, who seemed desperate; then at the lionesses that were now licking the bones of the dead bird, and he nodded. "You're right Kovu; there won't be enough to go around if the tigers stay. Zazu!" Simba looked up at the sky as his advisor was flying by, Zazu immediately shot out of the sky and landed at Simba's feet, bowing. "Yes sire?" he asked.

"Zazu, I want you to send a message to the leader of the tigers," declared Simba. The lionesses that were licking at a small bone turned to listen to their King, with looks of hope on their faces. "A message, sire?" Zazu repeated uncertainly.

"Yes, to the leader of the tigers. Tell him that I wish to speak with him."

"Yes of course sire," said Zazu. And with those words he soared off into the distance.

The sun was starting to set and Zazu had spent many hours searching the Pride Lands, in vain, for the location of the tiger clan. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," he muttered, as he dodged a swarm of bees. "I just have to find their whereabouts soon," he looked at the setting sun, "before nightfall. Wait a moment, it's them!" he whispered waspishly. For the hornbill had just spotted two striped figures heading towards what appeared to be a cave. "Wait a second, that's the same cave that that old bear used to live in before he fled during Scar's rule. Well it is big enough to hold a fair amount of tigers." Zazu flew into a tree and watched as a huge tiger of an immense build emerged from the cave.

_He must be twice the size of Mufassa…_thought Zazu, amazed at the sight of such a powerful figure, which must be the leader. The hornbill watched cautiously as the leader seemed immersed in conversation with the two tigers, which Zazu had followed. He seemed angry and, after he had dismissed the other two tigers, sat motionless. "Well If I'm ever going to get a chance to deliver Simba's message, this is it," he whispered. And with a deep breath shot down to the ground before the leader.

"Ummm…," stuttered Zazu, at a loss as to how to begin. The leader looked up and surveyed him with a slight interest and then he smiled, revealing huge, sharp white fangs. "I know you. Your Mufassa's little stooge," he laughed. Zazu looked horror-struck as the same words came back to haunt him. "I happen to be the King's major-domo and I currently serve King Simba, Mufassa's son," replied Zazu.

The leader smirked at Zazu and continued to survey him; Zazu took advantage of his silence. "Ummm…may I ask your name?" asked Zazu.

"I am known as Khan," replied the leader.

"Well, Khan, I bring a message to you from King Simba; King of Pride Rock and ruler of the Pride Lands."

Khan smirked again.

"What message is this?" he asked.

"That he wishes to meet with you to discuss the current situation," replied Zazu.

Khan considered this for a moment and then turned back to the hornbill.

"Very well, tell your King that I will meet him tomorrow at sunset; at that gorge." Khan pointed his finger behind Zazu. Zazu turned and saw, to his horror, that he was pointing at the same gorge where Mufassa had died and where Simba's life had changed forever.

"Now go," said Khan. With that he turned his back on Zazu and walked into the cave.

Simba, Nala, Kiara, Kovu and the rest of the lionesses were all anxiously awaiting Zazu's return; they refused to go to sleep as Simba had suggested to them many times but finally the blue bird came into sight. Zazu swooped down and landed at Simba's paws, "So how did it go?" asked Kiara.

"Well, I guess, it went perfect," replied Zazu.

"What did he say?" Simba asked.

"He said that he'll meet with you at sunset tomorrow, in the gorge," Zazu added, hesitantly. Simba stared at the hornbill.

"That gorge?" he asked sadly.

Zazu nodded his head sadly.

Nala nuzzled her husband but Simba had a determined look on his face, "If it means that those tigers will be gone for good and everything will be the same as it used to be. Then I'll go, even though when I returned to the Pride Lands I swore to myself that I would never go to that place again." Kovu looked at his king with pity in his eyes. Then Simba released a huge roar that echoed across the lands and Kovu smiled at him, knowing that if anyone could solve their problem it was Simba.


	4. The meeting

Chapter four: The meeting

The sun had already touched the horizon and, as Simba watched it setting, he knew that the time had come to bring his pride out of these difficult times.

"You're going, aren't you?" Nala asked, as she approached him at the edge of Pride Rock. Simba looked at her and, saw that she had an anxious, worried look on her face; he nuzzled her gently and kissed her nose,

"I have to Nala. Otherwise everyone will starve and I'm sure," his voice suddenly became harsh, "that those tigers will soon launch an assault on us. I can't let that happen." He gave her a final nuzzle and made his way down Pride Rock.

"Simba! Hold on!"

The mighty king looked up in confusion and saw, to his amazement, that Kovu was hurtling down the rocky path to meet him. "Kovu..?" Simba mouthed, wondering what his son-in law could want. "What is it?" he asked.

"Simba, if you don't mind, I'm coming with you," declared Kovu.

"Sorry Kovu, but this is something I need to do by myself," replied Simba, though he knew that that is not what his heart would have wanted him to say. But Kovu would not turn back. "I'm sorry sir but, whether you like it or not, I'm coming with you," he said firmly; "Everyone knows how treacherous tigers are. Khan is probably planning to send you back to Pride Rock torn to shreds; that I cannot allow sir. My heart is telling me that if I don't go with you something terrible will happen and besides, we are the only two lions in these lands." Kovu gave his king a cheeky smile, "We should look out for each other." Simba looked at Kovu in both amazement and shock and then, he smiled at him and ruffled his mane playfully. "Spoken like a true prince and future king," he declared. Kovu beamed at him.

"Let's go."

The two lions climbed down the rocky steps and made their way towards the gorge. It was a long journey, which Simba had gone on once before with his Uncle Scar a long time ago, and each step brought back painful memories. Kovu seemed to understand what the mighty lion next to him was going through but he dared not speak. As they approached the gorge Simba turned to Kovu, "I want you to promise me something Kovu," he said.

Kovu looked at him, confused.

"What promise?" he asked.

"That no matter what happens in that gorge, even if those tigers attack me, I want you to get yourself out of there as fast as you can," Simba answered. "Do you understand me?" Kovu looked completely taken aback.

"But...But...Sir…I…,"" he appeared to be struggling for words. "Why?" He said finally.

"Because," Simba answered sternly. "You are the future of Pride Rock; the future of the Pride Lands. Kovu, you know that my time as King is slowly but surely coming to an end."

Kovu was starting to feel uncomfortable but he remained silent.

"You are the next king. You are far younger than I am. Your life is of far more importance than mine," said Simba. "Do you promise me?"

Yet before Kovu could answer there came a sound of thudding paws on the ground and there, before their very eyes, was Khan approaching them with a menacing smile on his face.

"Well I see you're on time," he snarled. Kovu looked to his right and saw that the sun had finally sunk beneath the plains and knew that the night was on its way. "I suppose that you are the famous Simba," Khan asked. Simba examined the tiger ambassador and nodded his head, "Yes I am. And I'm here to discuss the situation that I am sure you have noticed," replied Simba, trying to keep his voice as polite as possible; but Khan pointed down into the gorge, "We will talk in there," he said and leapt down into the gorge. Simba and Kovu exchanged looks and nodded and they leapt down after him.

As they approached the tiger, they saw that he appeared deeply interested in the gorge's surroundings. He looked up as they approached and narrowed his eyes at the sight of Simba. "My name is Simba and I am the Ruler of these lands," announced the lion king. "And this is Kovu, future King."

Khan looked from Simba to Kovu and his eyes narrowed, "You take a lot after your father," he said to Kovu. Simba looked confused but Kovu knew instantly what he was talking about. "If you're talking about Scar, he wasn't my father and I would never want a father like him. But…how do you know Scar?" Kovu inquired.

"He was Mufassa's brother," said Khan. "And I despise anyone who had or has anything to do with Mufassa."

Simba appeared taken aback but his shock soon turned into a suppressed anger.

"What have you got against my father?" he demanded.

"You don't know?" Khan asked and he smiled evilly, "Long before you were born, both the tiger clan and Mufassa's pride lived in peace. Until your father tore that relationship to shreds; he treated us tigers with disgust and showed us no respect and then, he banished us. I swore to him that one day I would return and kill him and his descendants." He smiled evilly at Simba again, "Yes, that means you and your daughter."

Simba roared and fell into a fighting stance.

"Don't you dare come near my family!" he shouted.

Kovu also moved into a fighting stance, his claws and teeth bared and growling furiously. "I came here to make a compromise with you…" began Simba but Khan cut him off.

"Compromise?" he repeated in disgust. "I would never compromise with you and your kind. You lions think yourselves to be the superior race; greater than any other kind of animal. Your father's self-pride got the better of him when he banished us from the Pride Lands but I swore to him and," he laughed. "An oath is an oath."

Simba crouched down and prepared to pounce on Khan but the powerful tiger simply pointed up.

"Don't be a fool Simba," he laughed. "As we speak there are over a dozen tigers surrounding the gorge."

Both Simba and Kovu looked up instinctively and, to their horror, saw at least twenty tigers appearing into sight. Khan laughed again and both lions turned back to face him.

"Don't worry. I don't want either of you dead now, that time will come soon. The war is coming Simba. The time will soon come when a new Royal Family will step up and there will be a new King," he added menacingly. With that he turned his back to the lions and stalked off.

"Wait," called Simba. Khan turned to face him.

"You have until dawn tomorrow to leave these lands," he announced. "I have passed my judgment upon you. I will not kill you but if you do not leave by dawn then you will die. Now leave. Let's go Kovu."

With those words Simba stalked off with Kovu right beside him, leaving Khan to stare behind them with a look of deepest hatred.


	5. The first strike

Chapter Five: The first strike

For hours the two lions trudged home, neither one speaking; each absorbed in his own thoughts. _It had been an eventful night _thought Kovu: both he and Simba had come face to face with Khan, the leader of the tigers. However the meeting had hardly been dull, Khan had threatened the lives of Simba's family and, in a sinisterly cruel voice, had declared war against the lion pride; the hairs on Kovu's back shivered as he pondered this.

The first rays of sunlight were soon visible over the horizon when Simba and Kovu finally climbed up the rocky steps of Pride Rock.

"You'd better get some sleep Kovu," said Simba.

"What about you? Aren't you tired?" asked Kovu suspiciously, as they reached the entrance of the cave. Simba smiled weakly at the prince of his pride and shook his head. "No I'm fine. I just need some time to think, that's all." Kovu seemed to sense what was bothering his king, "Simba, I know that it's not my place to say but I'm sure everything will be okay with the tigers. All we need to do is stick together in times like these." The lion king smiled again; even though Kovu was not his son he had never been prouder of him. Ever since he had begun teaching Kovu about the ways of ruling the kingdom, he had always had a knawing feeling in the pit of his stomach that the only way to prove that he was ready to be king was a true test; a test of leadership and of strength. As Simba looked into Kovu's eyes he knew that that test was on its way.

Dawn had come and gone and the sun was at the peak of its warmth when the lion pride gathered outside the cave to hear the latest developments in the tiger problem. Simba hadn't wasted anytime in sending Zazu to discover whether or not the tigers had left the Pride Lands but the hornbill had been gone for over three hours. "What is taking him so long?" thundered Simba, as he paced around Pride Rock nervously. "Simba, just calm down; everything will be fine. Zazu's just a little later than usual." Nala explained, running up to her husband and nuzzling him to try and soothe his anxiety. "Maybe the tigers ate him. Maybe they're still here…" he muttered, more to himself than to Nala. He glanced around at the lionesses again and spotted Kovu and Kiara engaged in deep conversation in a small corner. He was just about to move towards them when a shrill shriek erupted from one of the lionesses. Simba swivelled on the spot and saw the lionesses staring and pointing at what seemed to be red and blue speck in the sky.

"What the –"exclaimed Simba, as he ran to the edge of Pride Rock so as to get a better view of what was approaching but what he beheld confirmed his suspicions as to the lateness of his major-domo. Zazu was hurtling downwards towards them, his body covered in blood; however it wasn't just his bloodstained body that made Simba's stomach churn but the fact that his left wing was strangely lop-sided, as if it was broken. At the speed in which he was zooming down, Simba knew that he wouldn't survive the crash but, just as he reached a few feet above of the ground, Kovu leapt from where he was standing and, in an amazing feat of agility, grabbed the wounded bird in his mouth and landed roughly back on the ground. There was a sudden rush of confusion: all of the lionesses crowded around Kovu as he placed Zazu gently onto the ground; Simba ran up to join them. "Is he dead?" asked one of the lionesses anxiously. "No, luckily he's not," answered Kovu, as he wiped off the smeared blood on his jaw. "Vitani, bring Rafiki here as fast as you can. I don't think Zazu has any time left," commanded Simba suddenly, appearing at Kovu's side and staring, unblinkingly, at Zazu's shredded body. "What do you mean "doesn't have any time left", your highness?" asked Vitani, nervously.

"I mean that Zazu is merely inches away from death. NOW GO OR HE _WILL_ DIE!" Simba bellowed, looking up abruptly at Vitani who immediately shot off down the steps of Pride Rock at the sight of Simba's rage.

"What happened to him?" asked Nala, who sounded weak with shock. "We can only guess," said Kiara.

"Kovu, could I see you for a moment please?" asked Simba, motioning towards the corner where Kovu and Kiara were chatting earlier. As he moved away from the crowd around Zazu's body, he glanced back at his wife whose eyes continued to stare at the bird's carcass. Simba knew exactly how she was feeling, as he was feeling the same thing himself; ever since the two of them were cubs, Zazu had always been there for them: there annoying childminder and the one who had even saved their lives by calling Mufassa when the two of them were cornered against a pack of hyenas. The lion king turned his head away from his wife, unable to give her any sort of comfort until the perpetrators had been discovered. "What is it sir?" asked Kovu anxiously when the two lions were alone together. "Kovu, you know as well as I do who is responsible for what happened to Zazu," replied Simba sternly.

Kovu shuffled his paws nervously. "Yeah, there definitely the tigers all right," replied Kovu. "But don't we need proof before we make any rash judgements?" he asked timidly, feeling the way he usually felt whenever he gave Simba any kingly advice. There was no reply to this question. Simba merely turned away from Kovu and saw, with a rush of hope, Rafiki climbing up the steps of Pride Rock with Vitani at his side. "He's here!" cried Simba happily as he bounded off towards the old baboon with Kovu at his heels. "Rafiki! Thank goodness you're here!" said Nala, looking up anxiously as he approached. "Yes, leave everything to me now," said Rafiki, pulling of two coconuts which he had tied onto his stick. The lionesses backed away, they knew that Rafiki was the greatest healer in all of Africa; though his methods sometimes seemed unorthodox, he always brought his patients back to full health without even leaving a scar.

The wise monkey crouched down to the ground and began tracing his hand over Zazu's body; at times he would mumble inaudibly to himself while doing this and, as he was smearing Zazu's wounds with coconut milk, shook his head solemnly. At last, one hour later, Rafiki rose up from where he was kneeling and turned towards the pride, which were looking at him anxiously. "No need to worry now," he announced with a warm smile, "Zazu will soon make a complete recovery." There was a huge shout of happiness that met these words as the lionesses rejoiced but Simba, catching Rafiki's eye, moved towards him. "Simba, while I was healing those wounds I came across this," said Rafiki and from the ground he picked up, what appeared to be, a chipped tooth. "That tooth is from a tiger, isn't it?" he asked angrily.

Rafiki nodded his head sadly. "I am afraid so. Simba, heed my advice, the war has already begun even through all your valiant efforts to stave it off."

Simba bowed his head, his eyes shut.

"I know. I didn't want it to come to this but they've made the first strike and now –"Simba jerked his eyes open. "War has come."

"Believe me, my friend, even your father would have understood that that now there is no escape from it," said Rafiki wisely.

Simba looked into the wise baboon's eyes and nodded, and then turning towards the pride, who were still celebrating, let out a huge roar. Silence fell immediately upon Pride Rock, as all turned to face their king. "Timon! Pumbaa!" he yelled suddenly, turned towards the meerkat and warthog. "Get up to the top of Pride Rock and keep lookout! If you see anything strange let either me or Kovu know," he commanded.

"Simba, what's going on?" asked Nala nervously.

The lion king turned to face her, anger burning in his eyes. "We are at war."


	6. The plan

Chapter Six: The plan

"Did you find out about the bird's condition?" Khan inquired. Night had fallen and, without a single star in the sky, the Pride Lands were drenched in darkness; however at the bottom of a rocky hill, a meeting was fast underway. "Yes sire, the bird survived our attack," replied one of the lesser tigers sounding both distasted and brave as to be the one whom would reveal this news to their leader. Khan surveyed the tiger with a piercing look which caused the speaker to shiver as if he had fallen into an icy lake. The tiger raced to bow his head to the ground, "please forgive me, sire…" he spluttered. The rest of the clan surveyed this trembling tiger with looks of disgust. Khan bowed his head, his eyes shut; this was too much for the tiger. With a terrible cry he leapt to his paws and darted off up the hill, watched closely by the rest of the clan. "Kill him," whispered Khan. Three roars followed his command and, in mere seconds, the trembling tiger was dragged before him; his neck broken, and 2 deep fang holes in his throat.

"The fool allowed his fear to get the better of him," announced Khan, turning over the dead body with his paw. Just then a female tiger emerged from the long line of tigers that were grouped at the bottom of the hill; silently she approached her leader, taking in everything about his current mood. "Sire, were you displeased with the news he brought?" she asked.

"No, it was just his character that displeased me," Khan replied.

"So then, what about the bird?" she asked.

"Shiba," said Khan, turning to face the female tiger, "in all successful war campaigns the first strike is never to kill; only to intimidate. The second strike, however, is designed for death."

Shiba looked awestruck as Khan ended his speech. "So who is our next target?" she asked sinisterly.

Khan smiled, revealing a full set of piercingly long teeth, "who else but the King's mother. Now listen to me, all of you!" he thundered, turning suddenly towards the rest of the clan. "Simba will almost certainly be on high alert after the attack on his advisor. So I have devised a plan in which to lure his mother away from the rest of the pride, so that she may be killed."

The entire clan turned eagerly towards their leader, fire burning in their eyes. "Shiba," continued Khan, turning back towards the female tiger. "Take a squad of seven or more and chase the antelope herd west until they graze in the shadow of Pride Rock and DO NOT EAT THEM!", he bellowed, spotting a few of the tigers licking their jaws.

"Now Simba and the rest of his pride will be famished after these few days

without food; they will not resist the bait. He will definitely send a hunting party to take the grazing antelope. I am sure that his mother will be a part of it as he will be greatly concerned for her wellbeing. They will then chase the antelope north. It is at this point that your squad will intercept them. Make absolutely sure that Simba's mother is killed, do with the others what you please," he ended on a sinister note.

The tigers roared in appreciation; never before had they heard such a foolproof plan in all of their lives. "We will begin in the morning," said Khan, turning his back to the clan and moving towards the cave. Shiba glanced at the tigers that were moving off, each discussing the prospect of killing Mufassa's former wife and, with a glance towards the sky, smiled evilly. "I look forward to seeing the look on your face Simba when I kill your mother," she muttered.


	7. Beginning Battle

Chapter Seven: Beginning battle

Not since the times of Scar had the lion pride woken with such feelings of fear, despair and anger as they felt now. The once joyous atmosphere of Pride Rock had become morose and despondent; it was a return to dark times. However this time the circumstances were different; this time what held responsibility for the atmosphere, was war. "I tell you Pumbaa, this stinks," said Timon.

"Oh, sorry," replied the warthog, turning towards his best friend.

"Not you! This whole mess that we're in," cried the meerkat waving his arms exasperatedly. "What mess?" asked Pumbaa. Timon let out a long sigh and stared down at the grassy plains below them. It had been over ten hours since the two friends had taken up their posts at the top of Pride Rock and the sun had already climbed up to its position in the sky, watching over the thriving savannah below.

"Man, I'm hungry," moaned Timon, as a loud rumble erupted from the pit of his stomach. "We didn't get any supper last night or any breakfast this morning! I know that we're helping out the pride and all, but that doesn't mean we have to STARVE!" The small meerkat stamped his foot in frustration and began pacing around the ledge, stopping after every circle to glance down at the horizon. "You know," said Timon as he turned his back to Pumbaa. "I really wish things would just hurry up and get back to normal and then we could chow down on some grubs again. Just like old times," he looked at up at the sky, as he said this, reminiscently.

Meanwhile, over the hill, Shiba had already massed a group of eight tigers in accordance with Khan's wishes. Each member of the squad had been chosen for their ferocity and cruelty; for Khan had wanted to make sure that Sarabi was shown no mercy and that the task was fulfilled to its best extent. They were also extremely loyal to Khan and obeyed his orders without question. Lined up in a formation of four groups of two, the tigers watched their captain as she surveyed their ranks.

"It's time," growled Shiba, "the antelope herd has no idea that we're above them. If we're ever going to strike, now is the best time." Shiba turned her eyes to the unsuspecting antelope grazing below and crouched down into a squat position; the rest of the tigers followed her lead.

"Remember the plan: keep at the antelope from all sides so that they have no choice but to run north. Then once they have passed between those rocks," said Shiba, pointing towards a group of large rocks in the distance, "pull back and remain hidden behind them. Simba will almost certainly have placed lookouts on Pride Rock and if we are spotted this entire operation will be wasted."

The tigers now knelt even lower, their eyes focused on one thing: the antelope. "Let's go!" cried Shiba. With those words she plunged forwards followed by the battery of tigers; their bodies moving in a streamlined position as if they were accustomed to such vigorous exercise.

"Hey Pumbaa…"

"What's up Timon?"

"Can you see that dust cloud growing over there?" asked Timon, pointing down at the horizon. Pumbaa, who had been soaking up the sun in a corner of the ledge, got to his hooves and joined his best friend at the edge of the cliff. "What do you think it is?" he asked, as he tried to focus his eyes on the blurred shapes amidst the cloud of dust.

"Looks to me like…err…wait a minute…yeah…" said Timon, more to himself than to Pumbaa.

"Oooo come on Timon, stop leaving me in suspense over here," cried Pumbaa who was now jumping up and down with excitement.

"It's an antelope herd!" cried Timon. "This is great! For two whole days not a single animal shows up around here and all of a sudden a whole herd pops up!"

"I don't know Timon. This looks pretty suspicious to me," said Pumbaa, with a frown on his face. "Aaaaah, you worry too much Pumbaa," replied Timon, waving an impatient hand at his friend. "Hey it looks like they've stopped. We'd better hurry and tell Simba," he said before he jumped onto Pumbaa's back and they rushed down the slopes of Pride Rock.

"Simba! Simba!" All over Pride Rock the name of the lion king echoed through the stone, as Timon and Pumbaa searched for their friend. "Hey, what's with all the noise," asked Simba, as he emerged from the den.

"Simba, finally, we've been looking all over for you," panted Pumbaa.

"What's happened?" he inquired, with a harsh tone in his voice. Since the attack on his advisor, Simba would always be found deep in thought inside the den. He would barely talk with anyone but Kovu, who he frequently discussed war strategies with.

Timon leapt off of Pumbaa's back and landed in front of Simba. "We just spotted a massive antelope herd up north," he cried frantically.

"An antelope herd?" asked Simba, looking down at his small friend in disbelief.

"That's right. They're grazing about half a mile in front of us," explained Timon, with a satisfied look on his face. At this, Simba turned away from him and ran to the edge of Pride Rock.

"I don't believe it," he whispered. "You guys are right!"

"Simba, is everything okay?" asked Nala, who had just appeared beside Timon and Pumbaa. The lion king turned to face his queen, his face glowing with a new light. "Nala, gather a hunting party of about four lionesses. Have them ready for a hunt as soon as possible."

"A hunt? But Simba, there hasn't been any prey around Pride Rock for so many days," said Nala worriedly.

"An antelope herd has just showed up Nala and if we don't take this chance now then the pride will spend even longer without food," replied Simba. Nala could see the seriousness in his eyes. "Right, just as you say Simba. I'll organise the party," but just as she bounded off to join the group of lionesses who were gathered in a corner of Pride Rock, Simba called after her. "Nala, I think that my mother should be the leader of the party," he said thoughtfully.

Nala turned to face him.

"Are you sure Simba?" she asked uncertainly. "She's been feeling very depressed lately."

"She's the most experienced lioness here Nala and I want her to eat first." He looked over to his mother who was sitting alone, watching the horizon.

"I know that she said that she can last without food but I know that she's slowly getting weaker," said Simba sadly. Nala nodded her head in approval of her husband's words and ran off towards the lionesses.

It was not long before Nala had gathered three lionesses who were willing to take the hunt. When they had heard the news of the antelope, their hearts had leapt for it had been many days since they had eaten to their satisfaction. At last, Nala turned to the former queen.

"Sarabi," began Nala.

"Yes?" Sarabi looked up at her and smiled.

"Simba would like you to lead the hunting party on the antelope," said Nala, tensely.

Sarabi got to her paws and smiled again.

"Nala, you know that I would only be a nuisance to the other lionesses if I went along."

Nala grinned at her mother-in-law and said: "But Sarabi, you do have the most hunting experience here. You would be honouring the lionesses by your presence."

Sarabi looked at her and laughed. "Then who am I to refuse?"

Soon all four lionesses were gathered at the foot of Pride Rock, with Sarabi at their head. Many of them looked weak, due to the lack of food, but each one had a firm desire to catch their prey and be the ones to return hope to their pride in these times of war.

The antelope seemed to have thought that their predators had gone and were now grazing peacefully again but over the hill, hidden by the rocks, the tiger squad lay patiently in wait. Occasionally Shiba would peer over the rocks to see the pride's movement but now, after the sixth glance, her eyes finally beheld her victim at the front of the hunting party.

"OK all you! The wait is up. Sarabi and three other lionesses are preparing to attack the antelope," she said waspishly. "Now remember, only ambush them once they have passed between these rocks. Any sooner and you'll give the game away."

Two minutes later the ground began to shake and Shiba knew that the antelope were aware of the lionesses' presence. Next the entire herd was once again hurtling at full speed through the rocks, completely oblivious to the hidden assailants. The tigers now crouched low, each one ready to pounce. The next moment Sarabi had passed through the rocks in pursuit of her prey but before she could move any further she was suddenly smote by a sudden cluster of claws and teeth as she collapsed onto the ground, pain flowing through every vein in her body.


	8. Red Fur

Chapter Eight: Red Fur

Sarabi gasped and got to her paws, her mind reeling, but before she could regain her composure she was met with a sharp blow across the head and toppled over.

"Surround them!" commanded Shiba. "Don't give them a chance to escape!"

Without question the tigers obeyed their captain and closed in upon their victims from all sides, forcing the lionesses to huddle together. Sarabi got up again, blood running down her face from a deep gash on her head.

"They ambushed us..." said one of the lionesses stiffly. "Now what are we going to do?"

Sarabi turned to the lioness who had spoken.

"Apana, tell Carla and Sema that we're going to try and make a break for Pride Rock," she whispered. At the sound of their whispers however, one of the tigers narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

"I hate lions," he muttered and, without waiting for a signal, lunged at Sarabi but before he could reach her the lioness called Carla leapt from where she was standing and tackled the tiger to the ground.

"Carla!" yelled Sarabi, running to her aid but the former queen's path was blocked by two other tigers, who bared their fangs at her viscously.

"Kill them all but leave Sarabi to me," said Shiba fiercely. "And make sure that one of them is left alive to relay Khan's message to Simba."

The tigers roared their appreciation at this command and then turned their attention to choosing the lioness who would receive their death sentence. Meanwhile both Carla and the tiger were engaged in a close fight, the brave lioness had struck the tiger repeatedly in the face leaving a number of deep wounds but the tiger suddenly retaliated by tackling her with a force that sent her crashing to the ground.

"Damn it…" spluttered Carla, as she coughed up blood. The tiger was now closing in on her, wiping his own blood off of his face with his paw.

"You pathetic fool," he cried and with a grunt of fury tore into Carla's flesh with his claws. Carla screamed in pain but it was cut short for she received the full force of the tiger's weight upon her neck and spoke no more.

"She's dead," said the tiger, reappearing to where the rest of them had the remaining lionesses at bay. Shiba examined him and saw the deep claw marks in his face.

"It looks like she didn't die easily Riaz," she said, with a slight mock tone in her voice but he merely grunted in frustration and moved off to join the rest of the tigers. The tiger captain now turned her attention to Apana.

"I have decided to let you be the lucky one who delivers our message," she said. "Tell Simba that if he wants to end this war and avenge his mother's death," Shiba turned her gaze sinisterly to Sarabi as she said this, who suddenly felt like freezing water was running through her.

"…he should come with his pride to the same gorge where he met our leader Khan."

"No! I can't leave you Sarabi," said Apana and tears welled up in her eyes. But Sarabi was looking straight at Shiba and she knew, beyond any doubt, that she was going to die here. Sarabi now turned to both Apana and Sema,

"Sema," began Sarabi.

"I'm not leaving you Sarabi," interrupted Sema. "If we're going to die here, then I'll die protecting you," she said fiercely.

"Enough talk!" yelled Shiba, suddenly impatient. "Kill her!"

The tigers now charged at Sema who stood her ground but it was not enough to contend with the mighty force of the tiger squad and she was soon swept off her paws and tumbled in a heap on to the ground. Like vultures on a dead animal, the tigers tore into Sema's body; her screams were drowned out as she was mutilated alive, her fur turning a deep red.

At the sight of this scene, both Sarabi and Apana turned to defend their fallen comrade but Sarabi suddenly felt rows of sharp fangs piercing her back. She screamed and was knocked down. Shiba turned to Apana, "Go now!" she yelled. "Or I'll kill you as well." Apana looked at her friend who lay beneath Shiba's paw and, tears flowing down her face, hurtled back to Pride Rock. Shiba looked down at Sarabi and laughed.

"Look how a mighty queen has ended up," she said, as she dug her claws into Sarabi. The former queen looked up at death itself and closed her eyes.

"Tell Mufassa I said hi for me," said Shiba and with those words, sank her fangs deep into Sarabi's throat. Her cry was cut short as everything around her turned black. For she was dying and her legacy had ended.


	9. The Massing of the Armies

Chapter Nine: The Massing of the Armies

Night was approaching and the sun had begun to make its way back to its home under a deep red horizon. The lion king was sitting alone, in a corner of his rocky palace, immersed in his own thoughts but aware of everything that took place in his surroundings. At the sound of thudding paws he turned to see Kiara approaching him.

"How are you feeling honey?" asked Simba, with a warm smile on his face.

Kiara sat down beside her father, her eyelids heavy. Ever since their food supply had been cut off, Kiara had been suffering the most due to her pregnancy; though both Simba and Kovu were quick in offering her as much food as they could spare, her strength was slowly deteriorating.

"Daddy, I'm worried about Sarabi and the other lionesses," said Kiara, sounding distressed. "They should have been back by now, whether they caught anything or not."

Simba nuzzled his daughter to soothe her anxiety.

"Don't worry Kiara; I'm sure the antelope are just more difficult to catch this time around," replied Simba; but Kiara continued to look worried.

Simba got to his paws and yawned, baring his majestic teeth, and then turned to look at the reddening-sky. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt the warm savannah air blow through his mane and, for the first time in days, he felt at peace. "YOU'RE HIGHNESS!" And as instantly as it had begun, the peace was shattered as Simba's eyes shot open and he leapt to his paws as all of Pride Rock suddenly became alert. "What is it? What's going on?" cried Simba, as he raced down the stone steps in search of the disturbance. In the blink of an eye Apana bounded into sight, panting as if she had been running for days without rest, and glancing Simba up ahead, staggered towards him.

"Simba – I came as fast I could –," spluttered Apana, her words tumbled over each other as they rushed to escape her mouth.

"Apana, what's happened? Where are the rest of the group?" cried Simba frantically but, even in the warm night atmosphere of the savannah, a cold chill began to creep up Simba's spine at the sight of tears leaking from Apana's eyes.

"Simba, we were attacked – ambushed – by a group of tigers," began Apana.

"No…"

"Carla and Sema are dead – the tigers slaughtered them."

"What about my mother?" shouted Simba forcefully but Apana bowed her head.

"Apana, tell me what happened to my mother!" cried Simba but his mouth was now denying what his heart knew to be true. Apana looked up into the eyes of her king, "She's dead Simba. I'm so sorry." In the moments that followed this announcement a dead silence had taken hold of Pride Rock but Nala, the lion queen, moved towards her husband.

"Simba –,"

"Where is her body?" asked Simba abruptly.

"A few miles north from here," replied Apana.

"Take me there. Now," commanded Simba; he spoke the words slowly, as if each one was causing him an immense amount of pain.

"We're coming with you," said Nala, moving closer towards him.

"All of us," stated Kovu, appearing at his side.

"No Kovu. You have to stay with Kiara. She's heavily pregnant and your place is by her side," said Nala firmly. Kovu nodded his head in agreement and watched as Apana raced back towards the battlefield with Simba, Nala and an escort of lionesses at her rear.

As the sky grew darker the pride of lions arrived at the battlefield and looked out over the land and their eyes beheld the mutilated carcasses of two lionesses, lying together in a heap. Apana moved towards them cautiously, turned one of them over with her paw and fell to the ground, weeping. The rest of the lionesses also moved towards the bodies and recognised the faces of two of their family.

"They didn't stand a chance," whispered Nala, as she struggled to hold back her tears.

"Those monsters!" yelled another lioness, looking down upon her fallen comrades.

With a final glance, Nala turned away from Carla and Sema and looked around her; the once lush-green grass was now stained with the blood of her family. However the lion king sat alone, a little further off from where the other lionesses stood mourning; He sat still, his back to his pride and Nala knew, as she approached him and saw what he was staring at, that a part of her husband's life had just been shattered; destroyed beyond any repair. Before him, lay Sarabi's body: two deep fang holes in her throat, her fur shaded with blood, several large and deep gashes in her stomach and half of her own tail in her mouth.

Nala stood frozen, staring at the sickening scene laid out before her, but she gathered her strength and turned to face Simba. His mane was soaked heavily with tears but he was no longer crying; he simply stared at his mother's body and, with a trembling paw, removed the rest of her tail from her mouth. Then without warning, the truth suddenly hit him: the lion king was now an orphan. For how long they sat there, Nala did not know, she simply remained by his side, refusing to abandon him in his time of need. Apana, who had regained her composure, got to her paws and walked over to the mourning couple.

"Simba," began Apana. "There is something you should know."

Nala turned to look at Apana but Simba remained staring at his mother.

"The tiger that led this attack – she wanted me to give you a message – that's why she let me live."

"What kind of message?" said Simba harshly; he spoke as if speaking was a habit he had long forgotten.

"She said that if you wanted to end this war and avenge Sarabi's murder, then you should come with your pride to the gorge where you met Khan." She paused and then added: "By noon tomorrow."

Simba was silent for a moment, then got to his paws and turned his back to Sarabi. Nala saw that his expression was hard and two burning flames seemed to be dancing in his eyes.

"Let's head home," said Simba. "It's time to mass the army."

"Simba, no! You can't be thinking of going there!" shouted Nala.

"I have to; it's the only way to put an end to this war once and for all."

"Simba, you'll be walking straight into a trap. Khan knows you'll take the bait. That must be why he ordered this attack; to make you angry enough to go after him."

Simba moved away from Nala, not wanting to hear reason; for the sight of his mother's ruined body had instilled within him a strong desire to do something reckless and foolish.

"What of the dead?" asked Vitani. She tore her eyes away from the dead lionesses' bodies and looked at her king.

"Leave them here. It is tradition in the Pride Lands that those who are killed in battle are to remain at the place where they died," replied Simba.

Vitani turned to Nala, confused, who nodded her head in agreement.

"He's right Vitani. That's why Mufassa's body was never buried."

With a final glance at his mother, Simba turned away from the battlefield and made his way back to Pride Rock; his head bowed, deep in thought, as the rest of the lionesses followed after him.

"You have done well Shiba," said Khan. The night had finally come and the Pride Lands were now bathed in moonlight. Shiba and the rest of the squad had just returned to the tiger's lair and had finished recounting the day's events to their leader.

"And how did you leave Sarabi's body?" Khan asked.

"Mutilated beyond comparison," answered Shiba, licking her lips in satisfaction.

Khan smiled evilly and turned to face the rest of the tigers, who were all waiting patiently for their leader to speak.

"Today, I extend my heartiest congratulations to you all," began Khan. "For today we are henceforth, Simba's greatest enemies!"

The quiet air was suddenly broken as the tigers roared in happiness.

"Today, we have placed ourselves forever out of the mercy of Simba!" declared Khan. The tigers roared again; for every word Khan spoke their bodies became filled with joy and excitement.

"Now, what we have all waited so long for is finally going to take place. We are about to go to war with those wretched lions! And we will, at long last, become the new Royal Family of these lands!" Khan paused, surveying the jubilant tigers.

"Prepare yourselves! For your final fight!" bellowed Khan, before turning to Shiba.

"Prepare the army for the battle. We move out tomorrow morning," commanded Khan. Shiba bowed her head to her leader and turned to move towards the rest of the tigers but Khan called her back.

"Remember Shiba. This really will be their _final _fight." Khan's eyes gazed deep into Shiba's and he added: "You know what to do."

Shiba nodded her head, just as her face split into a wide, sinister smile.


	10. Missing Assassin

Chapter Ten: Missing Assassin

"Prepare the army! We move out at dawn!"

Within moments of their return home, Simba had wasted no time in scouring Pride Rock to rally his pride for battle. At the sound of the uproar Kovu emerged from the den and moved towards Simba but, catching Nala's eye, changed direction.

"What's happened to Simba?" asked Kovu.

"I guess seeing the mutilated bodies of his mother and the other lionesses have really affected him," replied Nala sounding distasted.

Kovu looked down at his paws sadly: "They didn't deserve that," he said. He looked up and over at Simba, who was standing at the edge of Pride Rock gazing up at the moon above.

"Kovu, by the way, did you tell Kiara about the attack?" asked Nala.

Kovu shook his head: "No I haven't. I didn't want to worry her, what with her pregnancy and all."

"You're right," said Nala. "We'd best not tell her about the deaths. She's in such a delicate condition right now and the news of her grandmother's death might really damage her emotionally." Kovu nodded his head in agreement.

"Kovu!"

At the sound of his name, Kovu turned to see Simba motioning him over to a corner.

"I'd better go see what Simba wants," said Kovu, moving away from Nala and heading over to where the lion king waited.

As he approached him, Kovu was shocked to see that the tearful, fragile king he had been expecting was instead replaced by a king who sat upright, with a hard look on his face, showing not even a single sign that he was a lion who had just lost his beloved mother.

"Kovu, I have something very important to tell you," said Simba. Kovu said nothing but remained motionless, waiting.

"You know very well that we're at war Kovu." Kovu nodded his head.

"In light of this I am making you the captain of the army," finished Simba.

Kovu froze; he could not believe his ears. He had just been made the pride's captain.

"I – I – I don't know what to say sir," spluttered Kovu. "I'm honored."

Simba smiled at him, "I know you'll be great. You've got so much experience." Kovu's smile faded; he knew from where he had gotten so much experience; from the days his mother Zira had been training him to kill Simba.

Simba seemed to realize what Kovu was thinking and ruffled his mane with his paw. "Kovu, that past is long since behind you. You're a good guy now," said Simba. "You're family."

Kovu smiled at his king; reassured beyond any doubt.

Simba turned away from Kovu and moved towards the rest of the lionesses.

"Everyone!" he called, "tomorrow begins the greatest battle of all our lives! Together, we have all come through immense trials to be where we are now; we defeated Scar and an army of hyenas when we reclaimed the Pride Lands as ours and we put a stop to Zira, who sought nothing but the division of our prides. However, this time, we now face enemies who threaten to not just divide us but wipe us off the face of the Pride Lands all together and I say: WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

The lionesses turned to each other, with smiles on their faces; listening intently to their king's speech.

"Ever since those tigers came into _our_ lands they have caused nothing but death, pain and destruction! Now I say: NO MORE! They may be powerful; they may have a leader who, I'm sure, would gladly cut off his enemy's head and drink their blood! But will we hide away and let them drive us out of our own home?"

The lionesses roared in unison; declaring no in one voice.

"Then by our own sweat and blood, we will go to that gorge tomorrow and WE…WILL…WIN!"

From a distance it could have been excused as an explosion but, at the sound of Simba's words, all of Pride Rock's roars detonated together; sending flocks of birds hurtling from the treetops.

"Get some sleep," called Simba, through the noise. "We head for the gorge at the break of dawn."

The next morning, even before the sun had fully emerged from under the horizon, Simba's pride were already wide awake. There was no laughter, not even a small chuckle; all the lionesses' minds were focused on the battle that lay ahead of them. Simba and Kovu were inside the den, making their final preparations before leaving.

"I'm going Kiara," said Kovu, turning towards his wife.

"Kovu…" said Kiara, sounding worried.

"Please don't worry so much Kiara, I'll be okay. I'll be with Simba," said Kovu, trying his best to sound reassuring.

Simba also turned to his daughter.

"Kiara, if we don't fight them now then they'll resort to killing. You don't want to raise your cubs in that kind of an atmosphere, do you?"

Kiara shook her head and got, slowly, to her paws. Simba was amazed as to how big she had gotten. She kissed her father and nuzzled him gently before turning to Kovu to whom she also kissed and reluctantly parted with. Both Simba and Kovu smiled at her one last time before leaving the den.

The walk to the gorge seemed endless; the pride walked in silence as the sun gradually made its way to the top of the sky. Simba, Nala and Kovu walked side-by-side while the rest of the lionesses followed behind in four groups of four. Hours passed and soon the faint outline of the gorge grew larger and larger until the group found themselves staring down into it.

"Where are they?" asked Nala, scanning the gorge.

"Maybe we're early?" suggested Vitani.

"No we're not," said Simba, looking up at the sky. "The sun is at its zenith. That means it's noon and that means that they're late."

"What do we do now?" asked Vitani.

"We wait," said Simba. "Let's get down there."

Following their king, Kovu and the lionesses clambered down into the gorge.

"Everyone, assume the formations!" shouted Simba.

Without delay, the lionesses arranged themselves in the formation of four-groups-of-four, which Simba and Kovu had designed for them. As Simba had explained to him, Kovu had captaincy over two of the groups while Simba retained command of the remaining two as King and General. Minutes passed and still there was no sign of the tigers until, at long last, the sound of thudding paws became audible. Simba and Kovu, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the four groups, looked at each other and nodded before turning to face the oncoming army.

Khan walked in front, leading his army forwards; his eyes were fixed upon Simba who met his gaze unflinching. Simba saw that he was succeeded by a host of twenty tigers which meant that the tigers held the advantage of one more fighter than them. When they were less than fifteen feet apart Khan came to a halt, as did the rest of the tigers. For a moment, both of the leaders gazed at each other, as if threatening the other to be the first to blink, then:

"It ends here Khan," said Simba.

"You're right Simba. This is where it ends for you and your kind," said Khan.

"Where is the one who killed my mother?" asked Simba sternly.

"Shiba? I'm afraid she won't be joining us today," replied Khan, with an evil smile.

"Then I guess I'll just have to settle with you," declared Simba. With those words, he moved down into a fighting stance; Kovu followed his lead as did the rest of the pride.

"Time to die kingie," smiled Khan, mockingly. "Attack!"

With an eruption of roars, the entire tiger army surged out around Khan, who watched them tear towards the pride. As the tigers surged towards them, Simba turned to Kovu:

"Ready Kovu?" he asked.

Kovu smiled at his king and turned to face the tigers, his face set and ready.

"LET'S MOVE!"

With those words, Simba darted towards the oncoming force with Kovu by his side and his army at his back.


	11. Enter the Storm

Chapter Eleven: Enter the Storm

Lion and tiger clashed. Claws and teeth came face-to-face. In an instant both the lion pride and the tiger clan had charged into each other in the midst of the gorge, thus commencing the battle for the Pride Lands. As Khan had intended, the tigers showed no mercy to the lionesses; savaging them as if they were but lone prey.

One of the tigers lunged at Nala, who stood her ground and within moments the two were locked in a battle of claws and teeth. The tiger struck out at Nala, who dodged it just in time, retaliating with a swipe to the tiger's head, which caught him square in the jaw and caused him to stagger. With a grunt of fury, the tiger pounced at Nala, falling on top of her; she could feel the hot warm breath of the tiger at her throat but, utilising a trick she had learnt in her childhood, flipped the tiger over her and sank her teeth into his throat. The tiger grunted, coughed and lay still.

Never before in the history of the Pride Lands had such a huge battle taken place; almost every lioness had their own tiger to contend with, while Simba and Kovu occasionally came up against two at a time. Vitani, who was fighting against the tiger Riaz, was continuously slashing at his face with each paw. Riaz roared in agony, unable to bear the pain, just as Vitani slashed at his eye.

"You maggot! My eye! Y—you've blinded me!" screamed Riaz, covering his now dark eye with his paw. Seeing her chance, Vitani lunged at Riaz and tackled him to the ground.

"Now you're mine," gloated Vitani; but just as she prepared to land the final blow she felt a crashing force hit her, sending her flying off a few feet away from Riaz. Vitani groaned as she got to her paws again, realising that two tigers had just killed a lioness and thrown the body at her.

Slightly dazed from receiving the weight of the dead lioness's body in her ribs, Vitani staggered towards the blurred visions of the two tigers ahead of her. Riaz, however, had also gotten to his paws, still clutching his blinded eye.

"Kill that mole rat!" yelled Riaz to the two tigers, indicating the flustered Vitani. With a nod of their heads, the two tigers rushed at Vitani who had only time to whisper her brother's name, "Kovu…", before she was tackled to the ground and felt rows and rows of sharp fangs piercing her body; from her head to her stomach to her throat. Two minutes later they left Vitani's lifeless body, licking their lips.

An hour into the battle, both armies had suffered losses. Four tigers had been killed, mostly thanks to the efforts of Simba, Nala and Kovu; while the tigers had claimed the lives of six lionesses. Both Simba and Kovu had been running through the battlefield; fighting their own battles, assisting where they can and keeping the lionesses' morale high. After fighting off a number of tigers, both lions came back-to-back in the midst of the battle.

"You're doing great Kovu," encouraged Simba. "I knew I made the right decision when I made you Captain."

"This fight isn't over yet, your majesty," said Kovu, turning to face Simba and smiling.

"Hey, where's Khan?" asked Simba, looking around the gorge.

"I saw him fighting off a couple of lionesses not so long ago," said Kovu.

Just then there was a loud rumble, which shook the gorge from head to toe, and the ground began to tremble violently. All over the gorge, the battle had stopped; every tiger and lioness were no longer fighting but looking out to the open path ahead of them, worried. Kovu heard one of the tigers whisper to another, "What's going on?" to which the other shook his head in the same ignorance. Silence took over the battlefield for a moment and Simba saw that the pebbles on the ground were shaking enthusiastically. Suddenly the silence was shattered as three huge trumpet-like sounds erupted in the distance.

"That sound," said Kovu. "It sounded like an elephant."

And moments later, to the horror of both the lions and tigers, a huge army of elephants had burst into sight and were stampeding towards them; blowing their trunks violently and destroying everything in their path.

"Run! Now!"

No one cared as to whether it was their leader giving the command, both the lionesses and tigers turned and fled down the gorge as the elephants closed in on them.

Just avoiding being stomped on, Simba watched in horror as the mad elephants stomped on both lioness and tiger alike. Those that were unable to escape being caught by the elephant's trunks were hurled across the gorge, slammed into the cliffs and lay lifeless. Getting to his paws, Simba suddenly realised the one way they could have any chance of avoiding the elephants' massive feet.

"Everyone! Try and stay between their legs! They won't be able to stamp on you!" he yelled; his voice echoing around the gorge but it was too late. All around him both lionesses and tigers were being crushed under the stampeding elephant's feet or being thrown into the rocky cliff-face.

Simba scanned the gorge, while trying his best to stay between the elephants' legs, searching through the chaos for Nala or Kovu but to no avail. His eyes instead darted upwards to the top of the cliff and there, overlooking the death and chaos below him, was Khan. He simply sat there, with a broad, sinister smile on his face, as he watched both lionesses and tigers perish. With a roar of fury, Simba plunged towards him; dodging elephants and fleeing tigers; determined to catch Khan before he could get away. However, just as he reached the cliff-face he felt the twisting grasp of an elephant's trunk around his body and, seconds later, was thrown across the gorge. He slammed straight into the cliff-face, slid down it and crashed in a heap on the ground, motionless.


	12. A Royal Kidnapping

Chapter Twelve: A Royal Kidnapping

"Simba?"

"Simba, wake up!"

The lion king opened his eyes at the sound of his name. His vision was blurred and he could just make out the shapes of two figures standing over him. He groaned as he shakily got to his paws and rubbed his eyes, causing both Nala and Kovu to come into focus.

"What…what happened?" asked Simba, sounding confused.

"We found you lying here," answered Nala.

"…my aching head," groaned Simba; Kovu could see a long streak of blood flowing out of Simba's mane, like a river.

"Sir, you're hurt," he exclaimed.

"I'll be alright," said Simba; he turned away from his wife and son-in-law and gazed out around the gorge.

Both lionesses and tigers were spread out across the ground; many of them lying in pools of blood, while others' bodies seemed strangely contorted. As Simba stared at this scene, he suddenly remembered everything that had taken place that afternoon.

"The elephants!" he yelled. "Khan!"

"What?" Kovu asked. "What about Khan?"

"He was there," answered Simba. "I saw him; on top of the cliff. He was watching everything that was happening down here." And then the truth hit him as hard as he had hit the rock-face.

"He planned this!"

"What? You mean Khan knew about the elephant stampede?"

"No, he must have caused it; it's the only explanation as to why he was sitting so calmly up there."

"So, he's alive?"

"Yeah, he's alive," finished Simba.

Simba now turned towards Nala. His mind was weary but he knew he could not rest. Though the main battle was over, Khan was still a fugitive; out in the Pride Lands somewhere.

"Nala, are you alright?" he asked.

Nala smiled and nuzzled her husband.

"I'm fine Simba."

"Do you know how many casualties on either side?"

"Yes, I know that all the tigers are dead," answered Nala. "We've also lost a number of lionesses. Simba, if it wasn't for you telling us to stay between their legs; then we'd all probably be dead right now. The tigers didn't get any advice, that's why they were all killed." Nala suddenly looked sober; her mind on the chaos that had just taken place.

Out of the distance, groups of lionesses began to emerge; many of them were limping; others sported deep wounds and cuts to their bodies. As Simba watched the surviving members of his pride flock towards him, he realised that his pride were now too injured to continue the battle but he knew that unless he organized a search party soon, Khan would escape the Pride Lands. Simba would not allow it. There was a time when he would have allowed Khan to leave unharmed but now, after the murder of his mother, Simba sought just one thing: revenge.

"Everyone! This battle is over!" shouted Simba. "Let's head back to Pride Rock."

He decided that, until the lionesses were fully healed, he and Kovu would have to search for Khan themselves. With those words, Simba turned his back to the graveyard of lionesses and tigers and began the long journey home, with the rest of his pride at his back; unaware that he was being watched, from above, by Shiba.

Meanwhile, back at Pride Rock, Kiara was sitting alone in the den. Many hours had passed since the pride had left for the gorge and Kiara's mind had been in a state of constant worry. She thought of her parents, Simba and Nala, and her husband Kovu; wondering whether he would return to see his cubs. Looking out at the horizon, Kiara could see the unmistakeable sign of rain clouds approaching in the distance and the booming sound of thunder; this did nothing to ease her angst.

As she gazed out from inside the den, her vision was suddenly intercepted by a large and formidable-looking tiger. Kiara gasped, causing the tiger's vision to fall upon her.

"Who are you?" asked Kiara. "What do you want here?"

The tiger grinned at her, revealing a full set of sharp, white teeth.

"My name is Khan. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Kiara felt her throat knot up at the sound of the tiger's name.

"By the look on your face, it seems you have," taunted Khan.

"Why are you here?" demanded Kiara, doing her best to sound brave.

"I'm here to look over my new home," replied Khan. "With your father and husband dead, I have no rival."

"T – They're not dead," stuttered Kiara; but her heart had begun to tremble and she doubted the words that her mouth spoke.

"Of course they are," said Khan, moving towards her.

"S – Stay back," cried Kiara.

"I made a promise to your grandfather that I would kill him and his descendants. Seeing as how he and your father are gone, that makes you the only one left to die."

"Khan!"

In the blink of an eye, Shiba suddenly burst into the den; she was panting continuously; her body heaving violently as her lungs sought for air.

"What is it?" asked Khan; surveying her with a nettled look.

"Simba's alive!" yelled Shiba. "So are Kovu and the other lionesses."

"What!" shouted Khan; outraged. "None of them were killed by the elephants?"

"Many were, Khan, but most of them survived. They're heading back here!"

Khan paused for a moment, his mind deep in thought, and then said:

"Shiba, kill the princess."

"N – No, please!" begged Kiara; she forced herself to her paws and began backing away from the two tigers. "I'm pregnant. My cubs will die!"

Standing at her full height, Kiara's size was immediately visible to Khan and Shiba.

"She's right," whispered Khan. "This means that I have some more work cut out for me." He turned to Shiba. "Shiba, I want you to kill the little princess. And make sure that you rip those cubs right out of her gut."

"No!" screamed Kiara; now staggering backwards; a wild look upon her face. "You can't kill my cubs!"

However, Shiba had not moved; she simply stood there, not budging an inch; her eyes gazing straight at Kiara.

"Shiba, maybe you did not hear me. I said, kill her and her cubs," growled Khan.

"I – I can't," stuttered Shiba; her face was screwed up as if in pain.

"Please, not this again," said Khan, exasperatedly; turning to face Shiba. "So you lost your cubs! How dare you let that interfere with my orders?"

Shiba now turned her eyes to Khan; her face seemed to be burning with a wild rage.

"I will not harm a cub Khan," declared Shiba. "After I lost my cubs to those jackals, I swore that I would never let any harm come to a cub if I could help it."

"You sentimental fool! After all I have done for you, you would betray _me_ this way? Out of all the other tigers, I privileged you by revealing how I was planning to exterminate all the tigers in one hit; I could have let you perish in that stampede but, instead, I gave you the task of causing it so that you would be away from the gorge at the time!" raged Khan. "But if you won't kill her, then I will."

With those words, Khan turned his attention to Kiara; smiling menacingly as he began to close in upon her. Kiara backed away; her body was trembling uncontrollably as she tried to make a break for the den entrance.

"Now die!" shouted Khan and with a powerful roar, leapt at Kiara. However, just as Khan was about to land on top of her, he was suddenly smote by a powerful weight in his side; causing him to topple sideways; crashing down upon the rocky ground.

"You idiot!" cursed Khan, pushing Shiba off of him. Rolling away, she got to her paws and stood her ground in front of Kiara.

"I can't allow you to kill her Khan," said Shiba. "She's going to be a mother."

Khan also got to his paws, gazing deep into her eyes.

"Then you give me no choice, Shiba, but to kill you as well."

Khan roared again, causing various pieces of rock to fall from the roof of the den. He pounced at Shiba, who just managed to avoid him by moving to the side; but she wasn't fast enough to avoid being slashed on the side of the face. Shiba roared in pain as she staggered backwards, clutching her face with her paw; but Khan was not about to give her an easy send-off.

Lunging at her again, Khan tackled her to the ground and began slashing at her stomach.

"Get off of me!" yelled Shiba.

Struggling against Khan's weight, her arm twisted and turned, trying to break free.

"Yes…" she whispered; with one final pull, Shiba pulled her arm free and, with a grunt of rage, gripped Khan's throat. The mighty tiger began to cough as Shiba's grip tightened, slowly choking him. Suddenly, with a swift stroke of his arm, Khan broke free of Shiba's grip. Shiba screamed in agony; feeling her arm break.

"I've had enough of you," blasted Khan, pinning her arms behind her and plunging at her throat. With her remaining strength, Shiba thrust her body to the left and let out another howl of pain as Khan's fangs pierced her shoulder.

"You're finished," he muttered, clambering off of her. Spitting out blood, Khan turned to gaze upon his former comrade. Her once-beautiful striped fur was now tinged with blood and her arm had turned a puce-green. Her eyes were half-open and she was no longer breathing but her jaw lay open, blood flowing into it.

"You could have been a great warrior," said Khan, shaking his head. "But you chose to die by not obeying my orders."

Once again, Khan turned his attention back to Kiara; who had been cowering in the corner of the den throughout the fight, rooted to the spot with fear.

"Stay back!" yelled Kiara. "I – I'm warning you."

"You know what," said Khan, continuing to move towards her. "I've got a better idea with what to do with you; if I kidnap you then Simba will have to come for you and will be forced to play by my rules. Yes, you'll be my perfect leverage."

Without warning, Khan struck out at Kiara; trying to close his paw around her mouth but the feisty lioness refused to give in without a fight, writhing and twisting her body in an attempt to escape.

"Stay still!" shouted Khan, in frustration; but Kiara refused to comply until she suddenly received a sharp blow to the back of her neck and collapsed onto the ground.

"You're coming with me Princess; to crocodile peak."

With minimal effort, Khan hoisted the unconscious princess onto his back and made his way out of the den; leaving Shiba to lie in a pool of her own blood.


	13. Taking the Call

Chapter Thirteen: Taking the Call

Thunder clapped. Lightning flashed; and, within moments, the Pride Lands became drenched in a long delayed downpour. Emerging through the rain, Simba and his pride arrived home at last; many of them were tired and injured and looked forward to a long rest. Kovu smiled warmly at the sight of his home and shot towards the den.

"Kiara! Kiara!" he called.

Simba watched him go; he knew that his daughter must have been overwhelmed with anxiety since their departure and that the sight of her husband would surely cheer her up.

There was a long silence as Kovu entered the cave; the rest of the lionesses had already begun collapsing in whatever space they could find; enjoying the cold rain on their wounds. Suddenly, the still silence was shattered with the sound of a long groan coming from inside the den.

"Kovu!" yelled Simba. "Kovu, what's happening?"

In the blink of an eye, Simba and Nala raced into the den but what their eyes beheld, their mind could not believe. The den was completely deserted; there was no sign of Kiara anywhere; only the bloody corpse of a tiger lying in front of Kovu.

"What on earth –," began Simba; utterly shocked at what he was seeing.

"Simba, Kiara's gone!" cried Kovu.

"No…" whispered Nala; tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"All I found was this dead tiger," said Kovu; Simba noticed that his voice was trembling and his face seemed to have turned pale-white.

"W—where could she be?" asked Nala, wiping her tears with her paw.

All of a sudden, they heard the unmistakable sound of an animal coughing violently behind them.

"I – I know where she is…" exclaimed Shiba.

The three lions turned and saw the mangled body of the tiger that they had presumed dead, slowly open her eyes.

Kovu knelt down, so that he was level with the tiger; a furious look upon his face.

"Where's my wife?" he demanded, pushing his face close to the tiger's.

Simba and Nala also moved forwards; examining the interrogation.

"K – Khan kidnapped her," stammered Shiba. "I saw it."

"Damn it!" ejaculated Simba. "He came here while we were on our way!"

"Where did he take her?" shouted Nala; she had stopped crying and was now looking at the tiger vindictively.

"C –Crocodile peak," replied Shiba.

Kovu cast his gaze on to Simba.

"I'm going," he said shortly.

"Wait Kovu," said Simba. "We could be walking straight into a trap."

He turned to the tiger.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Sh – Shiba," she replied.

"That name…" muttered Simba. "Where have I heard it before?"

Then, as if like lightning, the reason he had recognized her name charged into him with the force of a rampaging rhinoceros.

_Where is the one who killed my mother? _

_Shiba? I'm afraid she won't be joining us today._

The words echoed in Simba's head and he felt rage flame up in the furnace of his heart.

"You…" he growled; Kovu stepped out the way as Simba advanced towards her.

"You're the one who murdered my mother!"

Shiba closed her eyes and exhaled slowly; she seemed to be mentally in pain. There was silence for a moment until she opened her eyes once more and looked up at Simba's hateful face.

"I don't deny it," she said at last. "And I wish to ask your mercy for it."

"You must really be insane if you think that I could ever forgive you," declared Simba; he now raised his paw, revealing his sharp claws. "I'm glad you're still alive, so now I can have the pleasure of killing you myself."

"Please," moaned Shiba; she gasped and coughed, spurting blood on to the ground. "I ask your mercy because I saved your daughter."

Simba laughed sarcastically.

"Saved her? You said she's been kidnapped."

"Y – You don't understand," she cried; sounding desperate now. "Khan was going to kill her right here but I – I tried to stop him and he attacked me."

Hearing these words, Simba's face began to soften.

"If it wasn't for me, she would have been dead right now." Shiba coughed again. Kovu could see that she had lost over four pints of blood. "I beg of you! Please, forgive me."

Simba had not moved but remained where he was standing; his paw still raised; then, as if steeling himself up for something, lowered his arm.

"You're right," he said, looking into Shiba's eyes. "If it wasn't for you then Kiara would be dead and you – you risked your own life to save hers." Simba smiled slowly.

"I forgive you."

Shiba also smiled; a large smile full of joy.

"Heh…Khan said that we were forever out of your mercy; proves him wrong."

With her final words, Shiba closed her eyes as her life finally left her.

"What do we do now?" asked Nala, after Simba had turned away from Shiba's body.

"We go after her," he replied.

"We?" inquired Kovu; he approached Simba slowly; his face lit up.

"That's right Kovu. We. Kiara is your wife just as much as she is my daughter and it's your right to go and fight for her just as much as it is mine. I've learnt, after all we've been through together, that I can't keep holding you back. You're going to be king someday. Besides," he grinned at him. "I'm going to need you out there."

Kovu smiled and bowed his head.

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Please be careful. Both of you; and, please, bring her home," said Nala; she nuzzled her husband gently.

"We'll be back, Nala. Wait for us. This fight ends today," he declared. "At crocodile peak."

He rubbed heads with Nala one last time before heading out into the storm; with Kovu by his side.


	14. The Final Showdown

Chapter Fourteen: The Final Showdown

Simba and Kovu walked together; alone through the rain. Their minds were bent on only one thing: rescue Kiara and defeat Khan. Ever since Khan had first appeared in the Pride Lands, things had begun to take a turn for the worse. From the murder of his mother to the kidnapping of his daughter, Simba had come to accept that the only way to put a stop to him once and for all would be to kill him. He shuddered as he thought about it; never in his life had he ever killed someone; he had shown mercy to Scar and let him live but when he knocked him down during their battle, it was the hyenas that landed the fatal blows.

"Simba," said Kovu, turning to look at him.

"Yes?"

"Do you think Kiara will be alright? She's in such a delicate state right now and I keep thinking: was the ordeal too much for her to bear?"

"Relax Kovu," said Simba; he tried his best to sound calm when, in fact, he was imagining the exact same horrible prospects. "She's a strong, young lioness. She'll be fine."

"Yeah…I guess you're right," said Kovu slowly.

"How much farther is it?" Kovu asked; they had been walking for ten minutes now.

"Not far now," replied Simba. "We're almost there."

Crocodile peak was a dangerous place; a high cliff of fragile rock overlooking a river of hungry, blood-thirsty crocodiles that attacked and killed all who fell in. When she was a cub, Simba had explicitly forbidden Kiara to venture there. He had found it while he had been scouring his new kingdom after becoming King; for they were the only animals who had not left the land during Scar's tyrannical rule.

Minutes passed and at last the two lions were climbing the rocky path to the top of crocodile peak; as the ground began to flatten their eyes met Kiara, who was lying unconscious right at the edge of the cliff, and Khan, who was lying down comfortably beside her; watching the two lions climb the slope with great interest. When they were on even ground, Khan got to his paws.

"I was wondering what took the two of you so long to get here," laughed Khan.

"Give me back my daughter!" shouted Simba.

"And my wife!" yelled Kovu.

Khan waved an airy paw and began pacing the diameter of the cliff, in front of Kiara. All the while Simba and Kovu's eyes followed his movements; taking in his every expression.

"Don't tell me that the two of you came here expecting me to hand her back so nicely, did you?" taunted Khan.

"What do you want with her?" demanded Simba. "She's not part of this."

"Of course she is," answered Khan. "She's been a part of this right from the start; ever since I made that promise to your father."

Simba growled and moved into a fighting stance; Kovu followed his lead.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Khan; placing his paw on top of Kiara's head. "Or I'll throw her to the crocodiles. I'm sure they wouldn't mind such a tasty meal."

Simba groaned and stood upright again; reluctantly Kovu did the same.

"Excellent," said Khan, smiling at the two of them. "Now then, down to business. Tell me Simba, is it not the law of the Pride Lands that the ruling pride has to obey the King? No matter whom that King may be?"

Simba nodded his head.

"Fantastic," said Khan; now grinning broadly. "So that means that if I challenge you and kill you then your pride will be forced to obey my commands?"

In anguish, Simba nodded his head once more.

"It won't make a difference even if you kill him," shouted Kovu. "That would make me King."

"You didn't let me finish," said Khan; turning to look at Kovu. "After I kill him, then I will kill you and then your wife and her cubs; thus eliminating any possible heirs to the throne."

"Then the pride will kill you themselves!" roared Kovu. "They won't believe you!"

"Then I will have to present them with all of your heads," declared Khan. "And if they so much as look at me wrong, I will have them either killed or banished for committing high treason."

Kovu was silenced; it seemed that Khan had planned everything too well; he had an answer ready for every possible objection.

"So Simba," said Khan; turning his attention back to the King. "Let's make it proper shall we? I, Khan, challenge you, Simba, for kingship over these lands!"

"Don't do it Simba!" cried Kovu.

Khan placed his paw once more upon Kiara's head.

"If you do not accept then I _will_ throw your precious daughter to the crocodiles."

Simba took a step forwards; his face resolute.

"I accept your challenge," he declared.

"Fabulous," said Khan, also taking a step forward before turning to Kovu.

"Remember boy, this fight is between Simba and I. Get involved –," Khan pointed a claw at Kovu threateningly. "And your wife becomes croc food." Biting his tongue, Kovu nodded his head and stepped back.

The two challengers were now circling the precipice, glaring at each other.

"This is for my mother," shouted Simba and with a powerful roar charged at the tiger. Khan stood his ground and watched as Simba leapt into the air towards him; then, suddenly, lifted himself up on to his legs and grabbed the lion king in his arms and with a large grunt, flung him to the side. Simba hit the ground hard but got to his paws again, just managing to dodge a swipe to the head. He returned the attack with his own, striking Khan hard in the jaw. The tiger staggered and, taking his chance, Simba drove himself into him; the two opponents fell on top of each other as they each tried to tear into the other.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to stay King!" taunted Khan, laughing maniacally.

Kovu watched in awe as both fighters separated then charged once more; it had finally come to this: the battle for the Pride Lands. Catching Simba off-guard, Khan struck again; dealing a powerful blow to the side of his head. This time, Simba did not hit the ground but kept his balance and saw Khan's attack coming head-on and knew how to counter it. Leaping to the side at the last moment, Khan hurtled forwards but, sinking his claws into the ground, remained in place.

"Fancy trick," he grunted.

"You haven't seen anything yet," replied Simba, smiling at his foe.

Khan lunged at Simba again, slashing at his face; Simba yelled in pain but, managing to regain his composure, bit hard into Khan's shoulder. For the first time, it was Khan's turn to scream out in anguish as his paw shot to his wound. Suddenly, with a roar of fury, he charged at Simba but, instead of using either claws or teeth, head-butted him hard in the jaw sending him rolling away to the edge of the cliff.

Groaning, Simba slowly got to his paws again but fell back down under Khan's weight.

"Say hello to your new King!" bellowed Khan; he lifted up his paw as he spoke, unveiling sharp, black claws and in the blink of an eye, dropped it on to Simba's throat. As the lion king gasped for air, his limbs flinging around him, Kovu suddenly raced towards them and leapt at Khan, knocking him away from Simba.

"I warned you not to interfere!" raged Khan, getting to his paws. "Those are the rules!"

"Rules are made to be broken," said Kovu as he helped Simba up.

"Very well then, I hope you said something nice to your wife the last time you saw her. 'Cause you won't be speaking to her again!" howled Khan. Turning abruptly, Khan tore towards Kiara's motionless body.

"No!" screamed Simba.

However, just as he was about to reach her, the ferocious tiger stopped in his tracks; a searing pain in his body; he turned to see his tail caught in Kovu's mouth.

"You wretch!" shouted Khan furiously. Twisting his arm with blinding speed, he struck Kovu hard in the face but the young lion refused to let go. Simba looked into Kovu's eyes, amazed as to how brave he was, and then he noticed that Kovu was indicating something to his left. Simba understood; he was distracting Khan so that Simba could get Kiara to safety. Simba nodded and raced towards his daughter, who had now begun to stir.

"Kiara," he said, shaking her with his paw. "Wake up."

"Daddy?" muttered Kiara. "W—where am I?"

"There's no time to explain, I've got to get you out of here."

Kiara turned her head and, with a violent jerk, raised herself up at the sight of her husband and Khan locked in furious combat.

"Kovu!" she screamed; Khan turned but before he could do anything, Kovu was on top of him in an attempt to wrestle him to the ground.

"Kovu!" She got to her paws, attempting to rush to her husband's aid but Simba held her back.

"No Kiara. You'll be killed if you go out there."

"I don't care! Kovu needs me!"

"You'll be getting in his way if you get involved. Kiara, I promise you that I will help him! Tell me, can you get back to Pride Rock alone?" he asked.

"Yes daddy but –,"

"Then go! Get back home, you'll be safe there. I'll help Kovu."

Kiara could now see an age-old fire burning in her father's eyes.

"Right."

With a last glance at her husband, Kiara turned and began her journey home.

Simba watched her go then turned his sights back to the fight; Kovu had fought valiantly but he now lay in a heap upon the ground, Khan closing in on him. Simba shot towards them and placed himself between the two.

"That's as far as you go Khan," he said; with a huge effort, Kovu slowly raised himself again.

"You're both going to die here," shouted Khan and Simba could see that his voice had lost any charm or willingness to banter.

Kovu was now standing upright beside Simba.

"Good luck fighting off both of us Khan," he declared.

Khan let out a huge roar of anger and ran at the two lions, which held their ground. Kovu struck at Khan's head with immense force, causing the tiger to lose his footing.

"Simba!" yelled Kovu. Hearing the call, Simba ran at Khan and leapt on top of him, sinking his teeth into Khan's leg.

"Get away from me!" screamed Khan; gathering his strength, he threw the two lions away from him. Both Simba and Kovu now advanced towards him, making him back away towards the edge of the cliff.

"No! S – Stay away!" cried Khan but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Khan!"

The three fighters turned at the sound of Khan's name that was coming from the distance and saw, to their amazement, two tigers staggering towards them. They were both in a bloody heap; sporting cuts and bruises all over their bodies but their faces were resolute as they closed in towards Khan, completely ignoring Simba and Kovu.

"Y – You betrayed us!" shouted one of the tigers.

"Stay away from me!" cried Khan; fear easily apparent upon his face.

"We respected you!" growled the other. "We were loyal to you and you tried to kill us all!"

Khan had now reached the edge of the cliff; looking down he saw that a group of crocodiles had massed at the bottom; waiting for a fall.

"You tried to kill us," declared the first tiger. "Now we're going to kill you!"

With those words, both tigers ran at Khan and pounced at him; Khan staggered on the edge but his paw suddenly gave way and with an earth-piercing shriek toppled over the edge, along with the other two tigers. Simba and Kovu raced towards the edge, looking over just in time to see the three tigers hit the water and the crocodiles submerge after them. Then, moments later, the crystal-blue water turned a dark shade of red before Khan's head slowly bobbed up to the surface.

"It's over," said Kovu, turning to Simba; with a long sigh, he collapsed on to the ground, exhausted.

"Yeah, it finally is," replied Simba.

With the battle behind them, both lions lay down upon the rocky ground; they looked up at the sky, watching the rain clouds depart, breathing in the sweet freshness of victory.


	15. The New Dawn

Chapter Fifteen: The New Dawn

The minutes passed and, at long last, the two victorious lions finally returned home to a huge celebration. All of the lionesses, despite being injured, were on their paws, waiting to congratulate both Simba and Kovu.

"You did it!"

"We're saved!"

"We won!"

And there, among the crowd, was Kiara; she had a huge smile upon her face as she watched her father and husband enjoy the praise that was being heaped upon them. Kovu ran towards his wife and gave her a long nuzzle.

"You're safe," he whispered; Kiara smiled and returned his nuzzle.

"Thanks to you and daddy," she replied; and as Kovu gazed upon her countenance he was reminded of the sun bursting through the dark clouds.

"Everyone!" called Simba, moving towards the centre. "We have won!"

The lionesses roared together in joy.

"Tonight, we can sleep at ease!"

With that, Simba nuzzled his beautiful wife and, with Kovu and Nala by his side, entered the den. His battle won; his mother avenged; peace restored to the lands.

Weeks had passed since the battle with the tigers and Khan's death, and the pride had all since returned to the usual swing of life. All the lionesses that had been injured had been nursed to full health thanks to Rafiki, but now the wise mandrill's services were needed for another task; for the day had come, the day of Kovu and Kiara's cubs' presentation.

The animals of the Pride Lands had already gathered at the foot of Pride Rock, underneath the morning sun.

"Where is Kiara?" asked Simba, turning to Kovu.

"She must be inside the den with the cubs," he replied.

"By the way, Kovu, have you thought of names for the cubs yet? You have a boy and a girl, it shouldn't be too hard."  
"Well, I was thinking of Sita for the girl and Zen for the boy," said Kovu. "It was Kiara who thought of them."

Simba smiled warmly.

"They're both great."

Just then, Nala and Kiara emerged from the den; each holding a cub in their mouths.

"Are you ready?" asked Simba, smiling at Kiara.

"Yes, I am."

With those words, both Nala and Kiara handed the cubs to Rafiki. The mandrill smiled as he embraced the cubs.

"It is time," he said.

And as Rafiki began the climb up the peak of Pride Rock, Simba gazed into the sky and there, among the clouds, were the spirits of his mother and father smiling down upon him. Simba smiled at them as all around him the Pride Lands exploded in joy at the sight of the future heirs to the throne.


End file.
